Schools can't deny admissions to children: Maha Govt

Updated on: Monday, June 14, 2010

Schools in Maharashtra denying admissions to children in primary level would have to pay a fine, the state government has said.

A decision taken recently by the School Education Department has made it compulsory for all private and Government aided schools to admit all students.

"Schools cannot conduct scrutiny for admission process. It has to be transparent and by a lottery system, else Rs 25,000 would be fined for first violation and Rs 50,000 for each subsequent violations," an official release said.

The schools would be charged 10 times the amount of donation taken for admission by the school authorities, the release said, adding, admission forms should be given to all the people in the nearby area on their demand.

"The State Government is very serious about the implementation of the Right to Education Act and the schools cannot ignore such an important decision, which we are posting on the Government website," an official from Education Department told PTI.

The period for the school admissions has been extended up to September 30 and students would be entitled to get entry in the schools after that also, a Government order said.

The Government has also reduced the age limit of the children to five years from six for admission in Class I.

In order to bring children outside the ambit of school education into the classrooms, the Government has asked all the schools to admit them in the standards suitable for their age even if they haven't received any education.

"A 10-year-old child should be admitted in fifth standard even if he has never attended school earlier. It would be the responsibility of the teachers and the schools to give special time to him/her to complete the earlier studies," the order said.

Special or handicapped students would be given opportunity to complete their primary education till the age of 18 years, it said.

It is also the responsibility of parents to ensure that their children are given compulsory primary education, it said.

Schools can't deny admissions to children: Maha Govt

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